


The Ring of Eternity

by Gassu



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Crack, Gen, M/M, Mild Language, Possible Character Death, Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 01:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2563958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gassu/pseuds/Gassu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce gets a gift from Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ring of Eternity

It was another day in Stark – no – Avengers Tower. Bruce was in his lab, working with another experiment. He has been enjoying the time he has been in the Tower, because (surprisingly) he gets to have his own space quite so often. Except when Tony saunters over, what tends to happen often (too)… And just like that, Tony came like invited to Bruce’s lab (again).

“Hey Bruce!” he greets with that familiar Stark grin. Walking to where Bruce is working and looking over his shoulder. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Bruce smiles, but doesn’t look at his friend and keeps focusing on his experiment.

“Bruce, I have something for you.” Tony tells, which to Bruce reacts quickly, turning around and looking at him.

“What?” he asks and he isn’t sure what Tony wants to give him. He hadn’t heard anything from SHIELD that there should be something to examine and it probably isn’t something about Tony’s own projects. So, what is it?

“It’s a gift.” the engineer answers with wide smile and puts a small white box on the table, near Bruce. This makes Bruce frown, because the box is velvet box and reminds him of those engagement ring boxes. He shook his head to the idea. They weren’t even dating, so what the hell. Maybe it’s some kind of necklace, but that’s weird too. He took the box into his hands, looking at Tony with questions in his eyes. Tony was just grinning. “Open it.”

And Bruce does. His eyes widen, because in the box there surely is a ring. It’s beautiful, sure, and looks strong too. Golden surface, without any diamonds or other little things on it. “Wh-what? Why-?” He is bewildered.

Tony smirks. “Don’t worry, Bruce. It’s the ring of friendship. ” Bruce frowns, because buying a ring to him is always too suspicious and stupid. “Hey! Don’t look like that. You see, I was thinking-“

“You always are, Tony.” Bruce shook his head and smiled.

“-and realized that we are quite good friends. We understand each other, our daily discussions are fun and being your lab partner truly has been one of my favorite moments. I thought that creating something that symbolize our friendship would be awesome, so I went and created that ring,” Tony is scratching his neck and looking at Bruce before he turns his gaze to his own ring finger. “And look, I even have one too.” He then shows his finger, where the ring is, to Bruce who then is looking closer at it while adjusting his glasses.

“That’s…” He isn’t sure what to say. Tony created the rings by himself? Wow. “It’s actually really nice gesture. But I thought it would have had something on it. Like something carved to it? Now it only has smooth golden surface.”

“Oh, but it actually has something!” and now Tony is grinning.

“It has?”

“Yeah, but it’s secret. For now. I want you to realize what it is.”

Bruce frowns again. Now Tony is just teasing him. “Hm. Okay.” and he was not sure how to react to this. It’s confusing.

Tony seems to notice this. “Hey. It’s not engagement ring. You don’t even have to put it on the finger. I just hope you would keep it.”

“Don’t worry.” Bruce replied and smiled reassuring. “I will keep it, thanks, but I think I will get some kind of little string and use it like a necklace. If I transform and I have it on my finger it would only break.”

“Don’t worry about the breaking thing. I designed it to stretch when you transform and it will adjust itself back to it's original size when you transform back to yourself.” Tony was grinning again. Bruce blinked while he tried not to look too surprised.

“Oh. That’s… That’s actually really nice of you, Tony. Thanks. I think I still will keep it as necklace though.”

“Okay. Sure. That’s really great idea, but let me give you some kind of little chain where you could put it and hold it on your neck. It would be fashionable too.” and then he winked.

Bruce shook his head and laughed little bit. His day suddenly felt much more brighter and Tony was smiling at him. It wasn’t like those smiles he usually saw from his cocky friend. This one smile was hiding something and sometimes Bruce wasn’t sure what to think about it.

* * *

 

It took another week for Bruce, but eventually he had to leave for conference in Florida. He had promised to Pepper to keep a speech about Stark Industries’ new invention against global warming. Clean energy and all that. He had been working on the specific project and was one of the leading scientists on it after all. So soon he found himself in one of the Stark Industries airplanes flying to Florida alone (except for the pilot), because Tony had promised to come there as soon as possible (likely in his Iron Man suit if Bruce can guess) and Pepper had something else to take care of before she too would come.

In the plane Bruce was occupied to his book, sitting on chair and one of his hands fingers were playing with the ring which was hanging off his neck at the little chain Tony had given him too. He was surprisingly peaceful, until suddenly there came strange sound from outside. It was a loud whistling whine. Bruce didn’t register it to be any threat until second too late and the plane was crashing down, forcing him to let the Other Guy out.

* * *

 

He groaned when he was himself again, noticing that he was lying on the ground without any memory what had happened until he remembered the crash. He sat up fast and was surveying his environment, alarmed. In the darkness, there was snow everywhere and that made him worried, because apart from the snow, there wasn’t anything else he could see. Where the hell the Other Guy had taken him?

He was starting to feel the coldness and of course transforming to the Other Guy had left him without anything else than his ruined pants. He decided to stand up, holding his pants with one hand. _Shit, it really was cold._

Bruce tried to remember what had happened. There was some glimpses of images in his head about the Other Guy’s memories. And while he was in his thoughts, he suddenly remembered the ring and noticed that he didn’t have it on his neck. That made him panic a little bit and he was looking around, but then his gaze settled down near to his feet and there was the chain with the ring on it. He grabs the necklace and squeezes it in his hand. “Oh thank god.” he says to no one particularly, relieved. Perhaps the Other Guy had wanted to keep it safe too, because otherwise there is high chance he wouldn’t have it right now.

It takes a while, but then his mind is wondering what day it even is. He doesn’t believe it’s the same day than when he was going to the Florida. They (he and the Other Guy) seem to be too far away from everything. Bruce sighs defeated, because he surely can’t go back to New York if he doesn’t change to the Other Guy and even if he did it’s hard to believe that the Other Guy would go back, and if he somehow did then what would be the reactions of the people living there.

The coldness creeps to his back and he shivers. Whatever had made the Other Guy flee from US (he is quite sure he isn’t there anymore, maybe), it surely has done nice work.

Bruce thinks – while shivering and walking through the snow – that maybe it was Ross who had attacked the plane. Though SHIELD had told him that they will keep the general off his back, but you never know…

Then he hears a growl and stops. The eyes widen in small panic and he doesn’t want to look back, where he heard the voice come from. Another growl and then he turns around. It’s enormous monster and it looks like Blonsky – no, like the Abomination – and Bruce is sure his own face is utterly blank, apart from his wide eyes and slightly open mouth.

“No… way…” he says quietly, because this is some kind of nightmare here. The monster is probably another Ross’s victim – no, another victim of the super soldier serum project and gosh, Bruce feels anger rise inside himself, but he is so damn exhausted that he isn’t sure will he be able to let the Other Guy out. There is possibility that if the Other Guy has been out already for few days, the green beast could be too exhausted right now too. So Bruce does what is left – runs.

The monster doesn’t move, but keeps watching him from distance with those glowing yellow eyes. It creeps the fuck out of Bruce, because it’s dark and the monster hadn’t done anything else yet than growled. Bruce runs, until he notices that he has to stop, because he is on a snowy cliff. He looks down from the cliff and it’s dark, but he thinks he can make some iceberg shapes out from the dark water – _water?_ – yeah, it seems that it’s the ocean with little icebergs and snow everywhere, however the ice doesn’t cover the whole water area.

He decides to turn around to look at the monster, but when he does it, the monster is already standing only a few feet away from him. It startled Bruce, because _how fast that thing can move without making a sound?_ He is walking backward, away from the monster and stops to the edge of the cliff. _Shit, nowhere to go_. The monster’s yellow eyes are watching him, there is heavy breathing and then the monster suddenly roars, lifting it's enormous hands to the air and hitting them to the ground. The cliff, where Bruce is standing, shakes from the impact and the whole thing collapses under his feet. For a moment Bruce is too shaken by what is happening that he loosens his grip from the necklace he is still holding in his hand and the ring drops from his grip while Bruce…

_…falls._

* * *

 

Four weeks.

It has been four damn weeks since Tony last heard of Bruce. He remembers when he went to Florida because of the conference (and because of his friend), only to find out that Bruce never had even stepped inside to the hotel from where they had reserved a room for him. And if that didn’t freak Tony out, he soon heard out that one of his planes had been crashed down and it didn't take a genius to know what plane they were talking about.

So Tony goes in to full blown panic, because he isn’t sure what had happened and is Bruce alright and before anyone else even knew what happened, he is already flying in his Iron Man suit to the area where his plane had crashed. Turns out the pilot is safe – thank god, Tony doesn’t trust many people to fly his planes – and the pilot is telling him that something hit them and then the Hulk had saved him from the fall and then there was another monster and the green beast had run away, while the other monster had followed him.

When Tony hears all of that, he somehow ends up being furious of what has happened. Not because his plane had been shot down – _shot down? Maybe?_ – even though it would have ended up being a lot worse and of course it makes him angry that that had been done nonetheless, but he is furious because this happened to Bruce and then something or someone had gone after him – _monster, huh?_ – and Tony doesn’t even know where the Hulk is now.

And that was four weeks ago. For four weeks the Avengers have been looking for him and found nothing. Right now Tony was in his penthouse at the Avengers Tower and he was sitting on his couch, playing absentmindedly with his ring in his finger. The ring of friendship. His part of the ring, while Bruce had the other one or so Tony hoped he still had it.

He hears the elevator ping and then its doors open. Tony turns his head to look at who was coming and notices it's Natasha.

“Well?” he asks, even though he can guess the answer.

Natasha shook her head and then dugs something out of her jacket’s pocket and gives it to Tony. He takes it and his eyes widen when his brains registers what it is she has given him.

It’s Bruce’s necklace and it still has the ring on it.

“I found this from snow. Quite far away in the north. There was several people who had witnessed seeing the Hulk around those parts few weeks ago.” Natasha tells him.

Few weeks ago, huh… And Tony squeezes Bruce’s ring harder, because this cannot be true. _He is safe, he is safe_ , Tony tells himself. _He is the fucking Hulk._

A minute later Natasha had retreated and Tony is left alone for a moment. He is so exhausted and damn………

_Stark men don’t cry._

Teardrop.

_Stark men…_

_“Sir, if I may ask you to step into the elevator. There is something I should show you.”_ JARVIS says suddenly and Tony looks up at the ceiling. _Huh?_

While Tony walks into the elevator and wipes his eyes, even though he is filled with sadness and he holds his grip to the Bruce’s ring quite hard, he still is curious of what JARVIS wants to show him. “What is it?” But there is no answer. The elevator only starts to move and then stops at the Bruce’s floor. Now Tony is confused, but then the elevator doors open and he steps inside to the floor and notices someone lying on the couch. His heart skips a beat right then. The figure is so familiar and he is sure his heart skips another beat again. There is groan and the figure sits up and turns to look at Tony.

“T-Tony?”

It’s Bruce. So tired, so shabby looking and Tony doesn’t even blink when he has already ran to Bruce, hugging him tightly. It startled the physicist.

“Oh my gosh Bruce! Where the fuck have you been?” Tony asks, while squeezing his friend in his tight hug.

Bruce coughs. “Sorry.” The billionaire stops hugging, but holds his hands on his friend’s shoulders and looks him straight into the eyes.

“How…? When did you come back? You seem to need a shower too. Have you eaten anything? And you need new clothes.”

“Tony.”

“Do you know how worried we all have been? We thought you would never come back anymore. Sheesh Bruce, I got this from Natasha just a moment ago and I thought...” and he shows his friend the necklace. Bruce’s eyes widen.

“I thought I lost it.”

“I thought I lost **you**.” Tony says without a beat.

“I thought I would never see it again.”

“I thought I would never see **you** again.” Tony says again. Bruce stops and looks at Tony.

“…Tony.”

“Bruce.” and Tony smiles. He gives a quick peck near his friend’s lips and then gives the necklace to his friend. Bruce blinks his eyes. Registering that yes, Tony Stark gave him a little kiss and he smiles at that.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime. You need a shower now, though.” and then Tony is grinning at Bruce, mischief in his eyes. “I can help you there.”

Bruce laughs. He laughs for a while and it even surprises Tony and himself. When he calms down, he replies. “Sure.” and that makes Tony’s eyebrows go up in even more surprised manner. But it doesn’t take long when Tony is grinning again.

“Yeah.” and he is kissing Bruce more passionately this time, the physicist answering to his kiss. Though when they broke from the kiss to get some air, Bruce noticed that his ring is glowing.

“Tony, the ring…?” and then he noticed that Tony’s ring is also glowing. The billionaire is smirking.

“Oh yeah, this is _the secret_. When the rings touch each other, this happens. Look.”

Bruce frowns and then notices that there is some writing on their rings then.

 _“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.”_ Tony’s ring says.

 _“But you are eternity and you are the mirror.”_ his ring says.

**Author's Note:**

>  _“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror._  
>  But you are eternity and you are the mirror.”  
> ― Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
> 
>  
> 
> No one died. Yay.
> 
> I think those rings are some Sauron's rings cousins or something. Yeah.  
> Gollum probably has a ring collection somewhere...


End file.
